Acceptance and Mistakes
by A Little Indifferent
Summary: A mother-in-law and a son-in-law learn to understand each other. Meanwhile, said son-in-law's son has gone missing. It's up to the babysitters to find him before the parents return. Dramedy. Modern AU.


"Odin, yer such a messy boy." Brady playfully said to the small little baby who was sitting in the sink. "To think, yer two years old today, and you decide to go get into your Mamabelle's make up." The blond baby was covered in vibrantly colored makeup, though it was mostly pink. "And I have to clean ya 'cause ya can't look like that in yer birthday photo."

Brady scrubbed the gaudy make up off of his son, making him appear perfectly adorable, as always. He dried him off with a towel, put a diaper on him, and carried him into his and Owain's bedroom, where Owain stood with a camera readied. It was heavy, but high quality, and with Owain's upper body strength, he would be able to hold onto it for an extended amount of time before putting it down. It was Owain's idea to rent the unnecessary and expensive camera, so Brady didn't feel bad about how taxing it would be to hold it while putting in the effort to get a good picture.

"Okay, just get his outfit on, and we're ready," Owain said, motioning to the dresser. Brady nodded. He picked up a neatly folded black suit from there and slipped it onto Odin. Owain got to work with the camera, focused (and totally speechless for once, Brady noted). Owain was dedicated, so much so that if he didn't like something, he wouldn't even take a picture. It was apparent that there was a problem due to the unhappy feeling that his droopy eyebrows conveyed.

"Can we please do my idea? Maribelle made us put him in a suit last time, so why not change it up?"

Brady firmly shook his head. "Not happenin'. We're not makin' him cosplay."

"At least settle for the hair style! Pleeease?"

Owain gave Brady a pouty look to which Brady sighed. He couldn't say no to that face. "Fine, you can change his hair, but only that."

Owain quickly sat the camera down, grabbed a comb and hair gel, and got to work on his son's head. Once he was done, Odin sat there in a black suit with his blond hair spiked up. "He looks just like Cloud Strife!"

Owain exclaimed, delighted with his work. "Now I can get this picture, just a minute."

Brady watched Owain focus on the shot, watched the camera's flash, and watched as Odin began crying because of the sudden disturbance on his eyes. "Just like last year," Brady groaned. He picked Odin up and began cradling him.

Owain had frowned. "Come on, you have to come downstairs and blow out the candles. Don't you like cake?!"

Ignoring Owain's interactions with Odin, Brady walked down the stairs where Maribelle, Libra, Lissa, and Lon'qu were waiting with the cake already prepared. By now, Odin was excited because, hello, there was cake and he liked cake, true to his father's words.

"Why would you make his hair look that way?" Maribelle immediately asked after seeing the baby. "This is supposed to be a day he can remember with photography; it has to sophisticated."

Lissa giggle and elbowed Maribelle in the side. "Oh, lighten up, Maribelle. He's only two."

"Yeah, mom!" Owain agreed, phone camera out. He decided to use a lower quality camera this time because the rental camera upstairs was worth a lot of money, and you never know what might happen around party guests. The last thing he wanted was for the cake's candles to light the camera on fire, making him shove out the money to buy it. He had a multitude of zany explanations for how things could go wrong that made him not even consider a higher quality recording. "Let's just celebrate and not worry about the future."

Maribelle looked ticked off, as much as usual when she disagreed with one of Owain's unconventional decisions, but she didn't further the conversation.

Once everyone had quieted down, Brady coaxed Odin into blowing his two little candles out. Everyone cheered afterward and began unwrapping his birthday presents, an assortment of toys that a young little boy would enjoy. The cake was cut, plates were passed out, and the adults shamelessly ate cake and ice cream, an action that many might find childish.

After the food was eaten, and conversations had ceased, Libra spoke up, a hint of a smile on his face, "Perhaps we should give the parents their gift now?"

"What gift?" Brady raised an eyebrow at his father.

"Everyone, we're going to Hawaii!" Maribelle announced, beaming. "Lissa, Lon'qu, Libra, and I pooled together the money to go on a vacation. It's a lovely idea, isn't it? I thought of it all by myself."

Lon'qu held plane tickets in the palm of his hand, confirming that the parents' gifts were, in fact, a trip to Hawaii. Owain was closer to his father than Brady, so he took both tickets from Lon'qu and passed Brady's ticket to him. "This is a surprise, wow. Thank you," Owain said while examining his ticket. "What gave you the idea, ma?"

That was a nickname for Maribelle that Owain had picked up from Brady. Maribelle wasn't a fan of her son using it, and much less her son-in-law, but now wasn't a good time to express how displeased it made her feel. "I realized how hard the two of you work to be good fathers, saving money, trying to find your own place, and I thought, 'maybe the two of them should relax.' Of course, you'll need to find a babysitter while we're away for the week."

Owain tapped his chin, his babysitters of choice already choice already decided on.

* * *

"Are ya sure about this, Owain?" Brady said to him as he made his way to the front door. It had just rang, which signaled that the babysitters were waiting outside. "Morgan and Cynthia aren't the most responsible people I know. Why not yer cousin Lucina?"

"I can't let Lucina watch Odin because Morgan would find out and insist that the Justice Cabal watch him anyway. Besides, the Justice Cabal swore a sacred oath to babysit our future children, or something like that."

"How could ya even think about havin' kids when all 'a ya were so young?"

Owain gave Brady a cheeky grin, arms folded. "You don't know what kind of adventures we went on..." He paused. "We kind of played house sometimes."

Brady would have replied, but the doorbell rang again. Only a few seconds after the second ring came another, and another, and another until it was clear that somebody was mashing the doorbell's button. Owain opened the door to find that it was Severa, who had followed her boyfriend, Morgan. "Um, Sev, why are you here?"

Severa's brows narrowed, offended by Owain's question. "What, am I not invited?"

"I don't mean to sound rude about it, but you are, indeed, not invited."

Morgan stepped up, his hand now on Severa's shoulder to help calm her down. "I'm awfully sorry, Owain. I was meaning to ask if Severa could help out, but I guess it slipped my mind."

"Don't worry, you guys!" Cynthia, who had been mostly quiet up until now, chirped. "Severa can be brash sometimes, but she's great with kids!"

"'I'm great with kids' until they start walking and talking coherently, after that, they're annoying. I only like babies." Severa corrected Cynthia, arms folded across her chest. "Luckily for me, your son can't do either of those things yet. So anyway, are you gonna kick me out now?"

"You can stay in that case," Owain said, opening the door for the trio to step inside. He walked over to the wall cabinet that was near the stairs and opened it up. "Inside we have diapers, wipes, baby food, and everything else you'll need for the week. Upstairs, if you'll follow me, is our room with Odin." Owain began walking up the stairs and into the bedroom after motioning for the group to follow. "Odin's crib is in here, so please don't make too much noise if you're ever on the second floor. He doesn't take kindly to rude awakenings."

Owain returned downstairs to the living room, babysitters right behind him. "I have to ask you not to go inside Maribelle and Libra's room. Maribelle doesn't like her stuff getting touched."

"What if we do it anyway?" Severa asked, grinning devilishly.

"You'll be caught," Brady matter of factly answered, leaning towards Severa's ear to whisper (maybe a little too loudly), "Ma's got cameras in there."

"How paranoid." Severa rolled her eyes.

Morgan was next to ask a question. "All right then, where are we going to sleep?"

"Excellent question!" Owain exclaimed, having forgotten to explain that part. "We have couches that unfold into beds that we take out of storage for these occasions."

"I think you've covered everything." Severa said, motioning to the door. "You don't want to miss your flight."

"Yeah, we'll be able to find the kitchen and bathroom and stuff on our own. It won't be a problem," Cynthia added.

Owain and Brady both nodded. "It's a shame that Odin's asleep. It woulda been nice to say goodbye." Brady said, close to tears.

Owain grabbed onto Brady's arm. "Come on, he'll be fine. Besides, we both know good and well that waking him is a bad idea."

Brady sniffled, then smiled. "Yeah, yer right."

* * *

"So, we're not sittin' in the same seats?" Brady asked his mother, who was comfortably sitting in the first class section.

"No, dear. I got first class seats with you and your father, and Lissa and Lon'qu chose to sit with the commoners."

That was all Owain needed to hear before making the connection that he wouldn't be sitting with Brady in first class. He knew he wasn't sitting in first, and he knew that Brady wasn't going to sit toward the back with him if his mother-in-law bought his ticket. He embraced Brady, whispered that he loved him, and walked to his parents.

Brady plopped into a seat behind Maribelle and Libra. He gave the stranger he would be sitting by a polite smile before leaning forward to talk with Maribelle. "I take it Lissa bought Owain's ticket?"

"Yes, Dear. Don't blame me for not getting to sit next to Owain, though; she was determined to get me to buy you a poor person's seat back there if she really thought I cared about your happiness."

"Might I interject, Dear?" Libra cut in before Maribelle's explanation turned into a rant over her and her best friend. If Lissa were to catch wind of it, there could possibly be a shouting match from opposite ends of the plane, and it would not be pretty. He turned his head to face Brady. "Your mother bought you first class tickets because she thought that it was what you deserved."

Maribelle nodded, head now turned as well. "Yes, my Brady bear deserves the best."

"On a different subject, though," Libra began, smiling at his son, "Who was the babysitter you chose for the task of watching little Odin?"

"Um," Brady muttered, unsure of how his mother might react. "We called over Morgan, Mayor Chrom's son." Brady chose not to mention Severa or Cynthia because those two had a reputation for breaking into some ugly brawls. Who knows how Maribelle would react to that, considering that they are not only baby sitting, but watching her house too?

"Chrom's son, hm?" Maribelle repeated, turning her head forward again, Libra joining her in doing so, "You should have gotten his daughter, Lucina. I hear she's shaping up as an excellent young woman."

"I said the same thing..." Brady mumbled. He gasped, immediately realizing the mistake he had made. He hoped that Maribelle hadn't heard it. She was quiet, which gave Brady some hope that he would get away with speaking without thinking this time, but it was shortlived.

"...What was that?"

"Oh, ma." Brady sighed. "I just said that I wanted Lucina, but Owain made other plans."

"Oh, Brady." Maribelle responded, her tone disappointed. "Brady, Brady, Brady. Why do you always let Owain make the decisions?"

"I dunno, Owain's hard to say 'no' to sometimes."

"You let Owain give your child a ridiculous name, you let him ruin Odin's second birthday's photo, and then you let him choose the babysitter who will be living in my house for a week. Honestly, I would not have left that decision to you if I had known Owain would be making it for you. I can at least take solace in how Owain chose someone decent, though."

"Gee, I'm sorry, Ma." Brady sniffled. "I didn't mean to disappoint ya so badly."

"No tears, young man!" Maribelle snapped. "It does not befit one of your station."

This flight hadn't even taken off yet, and Brady was already wishing that it would end.

From the back of the plane, Owain watched as the girl who was seated next to Brady demanded to be let off. She muttered profanities about how this wouldn't be her life for the next several hours, even if she bought first class tickets. Brady's face was tear stained, and that made his heart break.

"Mom, I don't think this is fair for Brady."

Lissa turned to face Owain, noticing that he looked sullen. "He's probably crying because he's not getting to sit by you. That's Maribelle's fault, you know. She wanted your father to sit in economy class alone so you, Brady, and I could be up there with her. I love her to death, but I wouldn't choose her money over my family."

"Yeah..." His head was lowered, eye contact with his mom avoided. "I just hope this flight will go faster so I can help him through these things instead of just looking on."

"It'll be over before you know it," Lon'qu spoke up, "Hawaii isn't too far from here." At that moment, the flight attendant announced that it was time for all passengers to strap their seatbelts on if they hadn't already because the plane would take off soon.

* * *

"Ugh, Morgan, you don't have to come in here and check how my soup is doing every two minutes, you know!" Severa exclaimed at her curious boyfriend, who just grinned.

"Who said I've been coming in here to check on it? I just want to taste it!" Morgan cheerily replied.

"You'll be tasting my foot if you don't get out!"

Morgan's shoulders sagged, his happy disposition defeated. He walked into the living room where Cynthia was pacing around with the baby held over her head.

"Fly, my pega pony princey!" She exclaimed, giggling. "Isn't this fun, Odin?" The boy above her was already giggling and laughing and just generally having a good time, so that was the only answer she needed.

"Okay, you guys! Soup's ready!" Severa called from the kitchen. She began walking out of the there with the pot of soup, simultaneously talking, "If we didn't have a baby to watch, I would suggest eating on their furniture, but we have a baby who needs our full attention and a high chair, so let's head into the dining roo-" She stopped in her tracks when she saw what Cynthia was up to. "Are you mad, Cynthia?! What if you drop him and he gets hurt?"

Cynthia looked annoyed, but she lowered the baby to be held in her arms. "I was just having fun, don't be so uptight. Besides, I had everything in control."

"Well, fine, but I'm taking him. Brady's baby is literally mine now." Severa left Cynthia with the intent of placing the pot on the dining table and retrieving the baby after, but Morgan had already brought the high chair in, and Cynthia had him in it. She stuck her tongue out at Severa as she and Morgan took the closest seats to the kid.

Severa shot daggers at Cynthia, but left to get bowls and silverware instead of a confrontation; the baby's ears didn't need that. She grabbed baby food from the cabinet on her way back, and carried it inside one of the bowls.

She gave a sweet grin when she saw the baby again. "Hey, you!" She opened up the package of baby food and dropped it into his bowl, and gave him cute little spoon to eat with. She then reluctantly took her seat next to Morgan and began distributing bowls of soup between the three of them.

"Gotta say, Sev, your cooking's been way better since you learned to add love," Morgan complimented between spoonfuls of soup.

"There is no such thing as adding love, but whatever you say." Severa said, then slowly ate her first spoonful.

"Come on, Severa! You've outdone yourself." Cynthia smiled. "I bet Aunt Cordelia wouldn't be able to-" Cynthia was interrupted by a glob of banana flavored baby food that was thrown at her face. A glance in Odin's direction would confirm its source. "I'm gonna go clean this off, be right back." Cynthia stood up and stepped out of the dining room while Severa laughed.

"Thank you, Odin. I'll be taking that chair now, and probably feeding you myself."

* * *

Brady and Owain stepped into their hotel room. The bed was neatly prepared, and there was a nice fragrance to the whole room. "I'm so glad we can be together again, Brady. We are soulmates that must not be separated by conflict between our social classes' seating on flying transportation."

Brady blushed. "Why do ya gotta say odd stuff like that, stuff that makes me so happy only because yer sayin' it?"

"Any hero of romance such as myself knows how to please their partner."

"A'ight, you dork. Let's get unpacked."


End file.
